Mike Riversdale

What a wonderful old story about Kiwi  Andrew Oliver and Fonterra to warm the cockles of your heart! Fonterra changes tanker schedule for #1 fan by Indira Stewart, 8 May 2019 "A big outfit like Fonterra doesn't have to do that. They simply could've ignored the request but no, they came through. And we're very grateful." Kevin said the 15-minute visit to the farm to drain its milk vats every evening is a special treat for the tanker drivers on that shift. "We like to come out here. You realise that you're lucky, how lucky you are that we're able to do this. If we can make Andy's day well, hey that's the icing on the cake." Sad to read that in July 2025, Oliver died of pneumonia at Waikato Hospital, at the age of 41. He was buried in a coffin printed with images of Fonterra milk tanker trucks.

Walk into a bookshop OR go to a bookshop website Choose you book Hand over your money The challenge is step 2, always step 2, the choosing of the book that fits the mood of the moment. 10 Fantasy Books With The Best Lore by Tom Russell, Jul 20, 2026 While there are countless incredible literary fantasy worlds waiting to be discovered, some authors stand apart because of the sheer depth of the histories and mythologies they have created. For readers searching for a world they can truly lose themselves in, these books are some of the most immersive and lore-heavy experiences fantasy has to offer. Worldbreaker Saga  by Kameron Hurley (2015-2020) Between Earth And Sky Trilogy  by Rebecca Roanhorse (2020-2024) A Song Of Ice And Fire Serie s by George R.R. Martin (1996-Present) Realm Of The Elderlings Series  by Robin Hobb (1995-2017) War Of Light And Shadow Series by Janny Wurts (1993-2024) Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett (1983-2015) Stormlight Archive Series by ...

A lot of websites will complain that I am not allowing ads, the pop-up below is one of the more polite ones. The thing is, I am NOT blocking ads, I don't mind ads tbh, show ads if it keeps you in business, I get it, someone has to pay for the service. However, I am blocking tracking (both via Vivaldi browser and DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection on my mobile devices) as I don't want you, or whoever you are using to serve up ads, to track me across the web - it's really none of your business. Listen, the TV stations shows me ads, but they don't / can't track me. I know the ad services would love to be able to, but I'm down with seeing ads without being tracked - although I let you into a little secret, I mute ads on TV. So, be like the TV stations, show ads as you see fit, but I'm not gonna let you track me. And we all know what you mean when you say, "Ads aren't being displayed", that's your call nothing to do with me, what you mean is,...

Life is hard, fragile, breathtaking , and can sometimes come at us fast. We all have choices, even when we believe we don't. This has been one of the hardest lessons for me to learn in life. During the times the brain has gone wobbly , when events seem to be conspiring against me, just as I believed I was on my own in the universe with only one path before me, I remembered I had the choice about how I thought and reacted to everything. The very phrase, "always look on the bright side of life", would annoy the bejeesus out of me, "always", "bright", ah fuck off you don't know me and what I have to put up with, just piss off with your happy clappy platitudes! In would pop the song.  I'd have a little whistle. A smile, a breath, and a relax. That fun song by Eric Idle ( created  during script writing with vocals re-recorded in a mattress fort inside a Tunisian hotel room) does actually nail it - we do have a choice: What have you got to lose? You ...

Yes, if you are lucky enough to get 2008 accommodation in Dunedin (South Island, AoNZ) you will see a total eclipse of the Sun. Same goes for Sydney . Heck, we in Papunya may see something of it. Find out where you need to be for eclipses:  https://dojo.amcharts.com/solar-eclipses/

Memory is one of the strangest abilities you possess. Your brain uses an incredibly complex biological system to preserve moments from your past that no longer exist, allowing you to revisit experiences from years ago. But memories are not always recordings of reality. In fact, every time a memory comes under the spotlight of your attention, it can melt and change a tiny bit. What exactly is a memory, how is a moment in time stored inside your brain, and why does remembering something slowly rewrite the story of your life? via the wonderful Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

If you don't know about  Sarah Wynn-Williams and her book, Careless People , then I urge you to get a copy for a number of reasons. Let's start with the opening chapter where an early teenage Wynn-Williams, a New Zealand lawyer, public policy advisor, and author, was attacked by a shark as a teenager while on holiday in Tukurua, Golden Bay / Mohua. It's quite the harrowing event and after which I imagine she wasn't afraid of bastard sharks she worked alongside at Facebook (now Meta). Of course the book is now famous for giving the low down on the internal processes, culture, and 'leadership' at Facebook (Meta), especially around: Internal guidelines on content moderation Parscale’s team also ran voter suppression campaigns. They were targeted at three different groups of Democrats: young women, white liberals who might like Bernie Sanders, and Black voters. These voters got so-called dark posts—nonpublic posts that only they would see. They’d be invisible to ...

Neils Bohr and Albert Einstein famously had many discussions / disagreements  both taking contrarian views and calling out any 'bullshit' in their hunt for the truth about reality.  Carl Sagan's 9 timeless lessons for detecting baloney by Ethan Siegel, February 10, 2026 Carl Sagan was one of the most prominent scientific figures of the 20th century, helping cofound the now-thriving field of planetary science and popularizing physics and astronomy for a generation of adults and children. His "baloney detection kit" remains, even in 2026, a masterstroke for helping guide people down the path of critical thinking, and inoculating themselves against grifters, frauds, and charlatans. Demand independent confirmation of whatever statements are asserted as facts. Encourage substantive debate from all points of view by those with substantial, relevant expertise. Don’t accept an argument from an authority because that person is an authority. Instead, judge arguments based...

He's quite the character is Mr Moore , a wizard no less, and so so utterly creative! If I could I would get actual books (paper and all that) of everything he's ever created or co-created. In the meantime here's 4 I am gonna order over the next few months ... yes, actual books! Jerusalem (2016) Employing, a kaleidoscope of literary forms and styles that ranges from brutal social realism to extravagant children’s fantasy, from the modern stage drama to the extremes of science fiction, Jerusalem’s dizzyingly rich cast of characters includes the living, the dead, the celestial, and the infernal in an intricately woven tapestry that presents a vision of an absolute and timeless human reality in all of its exquisite, comical, and heartbreaking splendor. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1: The Absolute Edition London, 1898. The Victorian Era draws to a close and the twentieth century approaches. It is a time of great change and an age of stagnation, a period of chaste orde...

Trump, his Administration, his ever changing known and hidden gang of cronies, and all those that support his thinking and behaviour never sleep, they are constantly endeavouring to enrich themselves (but only Trump ad those at the top actually get anywhere with it) and in the process fuck up the rest of the world for us all. Who pays the cost when Americans opt out of science? by Adam Frank, July 15, 2026 From this, and many other encounters, I learned that science denial is not about science — that reader and others I’ve engaged with expressed no curiosity about how planetary climates actually worked. Instead, it is about a kind of tribalism: If you identify as a member of certain groups — usually ones that have a particular political orientation — then you oppose certain kinds of science. It’s already becoming clear how the infection of science denial — of opting out of a commitment to science — is affecting the U.S. Because the current administration has embraced climate denial...

David McCandless through his Information is Beautiful website has added a whole page of Common MythConceptions - and I (un)learnt that: Depression = chemical imbalance Simplistic. Thank pharma for the idea that major depression is caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals like serotonin. Bananas grow on trees They actually grow on massive herbs that resemble trees. Bet you didn’t know that. We lose heat through the head Only in infants is most heat lost this way. Or if the head is the only uncovered part of the body. Fishy 3-sec memory While not the smartest, goldfish boast a memory span of 3 months – better than most politicians. Glass is a liquid Actually an ‘amorphous solid’. ‘But that's why stained-glass windows are thicker at the bottom.’ Nope. It’s just badly made glass. Sugar = hyperactivity Studies have disproved this. ADHD and poor behaviours still occurs in children with sugar-free diets. [also: QI S7E9 - Myth Of Sugary Foods/Drinks Effect On Children Exposed! ]  Shavin...

A cutting-edge thriller about an Artificial Intelligence takeover, written in consultation with leading AI and cybersecurity experts. During a routine overnight update at the headquarters of a major UK telecoms giant, two IT workers unknowingly set something terrifying in motion. They've started an LCE - an AI Loss of Control Event. Over the course of one night, a handful of staff race to regain control as forces far beyond the building begin to close in. What’s been unleashed threatens to change everything — and soon there may be no way to put it back. This is a very a real and disastrous phenomenon, and it could happen to us very soon. Wraith , a 4 episode BBC radio drama / podcast, is most excellent and, god forbid, could end up becoming a warning documentary within a year or so. It's fascinating to see how the AI uses all of its capabilities, deep fakes, connections, and even conspiracy-laden minds of people. None of it is currently brought together in a c...

Oh wow, I've always wondered what that feeling was and here is Professor Hannah Fry explaining it all. 28 May 2026 You can feel it on other people's skin too!  If they hold a charging phone or tablet while sitting on a bed or somewhere with their feet off the ground (so they aren't themselves grounded) and you keep your feet on the ground and gently stroke their skin with your finger - you will feel them "buzzing"  (as long as you're both sweaty enough of course...)

On Shortverse you can watch any of the 24,411 short films for free (once you create an account), as uploaded by filmmakers and all discoverable by genre, length, technique, topics, age rating, and even by short film festival. How about an 18 minute comedy / fantasy short movie,  Felix the Fox and the Enchanted Forest , perhaps.  by Teddy Young, 6 May 2024 Join Felix and Harold as they try to con their way out of the only thing they never wanted – adventure. No, not for you, well how about an experimental AI generated horror movie,  WORM ? by Gregory Foltynowicz, 17 February 2026 A surrealist body-horror short that stages intimacy as a fight for agency, where dominance and resistance collide and give birth to the consequences of unchecked power. Ok, ok, there are lovely family movies as well, give the 5 minute  DUCKS a go, you'll love it. by AJ Jefferies, 12 March 2025 A perfectly normal day in the park No - well sign up and have a look yourself, you will ...

A comfy chair, a large window, a table, a book, a charger, and the countryside rushing past. AND, nothing to do, no-one to hassle you, no cares as you can't do anything about any of the problems of the world because you're ensconced on a train. There is no finer way to travel, train! I adore train travel ... just in case you weren't getting it. Sea-hugging railways and magical views: five of Europe’s best coastal train lines by Nicky Gardner, 25 May 2026 1: Scotland: from coast to coast Route: Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh Which side should I sit? The right initially, then switch to left 2: Ireland: from Dublin to Wicklow Route: Dublin Connolly to Arklow Which side? Sit on the left 3: Germany: over the sea to the island of Sylt Route: Husum to Keitum Which side? Sit on the left 4: Spain: Galicia’s spectacular fjords Route: Ribadeo to Ferrol Which side? Sit on the right 5: Italy: Along the Calabrian coast Route: Reggio di Calabria to Soverato Which side? Sit on th...

I am a cook, not a chef. A cook needs a recipe, all the ingredients, and a good clean run at it in the kitchen without anyone giving advice. A chef can fling open a cupboard, scan what's available, and announce what they will be creating for dinner. I'm a cook, not a chef. Over the years I have collected recipes in many formats, scraps of paper, books, electronic notes, links to websites, and even YouTube videos. Everywhere and anywhere - not my favourite way to keep info. During lockdown, or maybe just after, I stumbled upon* Cooked.wiki At the time it was a hobby site from Eduardo Gonçalves , a software engineer, entrepreneur, and teacher from Lisbon. I believe it was Eduardo's attempt to learn how to code with AI and boy was it useful! It's still run by Eduardo but it's now a fully fledged website with excellent mobile apps AND it's ad-free and hosted in Europe which I adore , of course. Like a million other recipe sites/apps it organises, displays, and...